Cliché and Crackers

From a looong stretch of monotonous routine and perfect order marked by studying, procrastinating, smoothie-ing and salad-munching... to travelling, eating like a king and boozing every evening - the second half of June has been a jumble of over-indulging and over-spending.

Until a few days ago I had resigned to the idea that my time in Bologna had come to an end, and that the couple of weeks that were left would be dedicated to farewells and moving out. Alas, the tides have turned and my stay extended, yet the threat of a premature departure has opened my eyes to the many many things that I will miss about Bologna and life in Italy.

If ever in Turin, head to Consorzio for an amazing meal (click on image for info)

Yes - there are the occasional (ok - somewhat frequent) frustrations of delayed or even absent public transport, an unnecessarily tedious public health system, unpredictable opening hours for shops and libraries and of course the good ol' strike or two. Nothing a bit of cheese and a great big glass of red can't fix. Ten months of marinating in Italian life has got this gal thinking like a native - besides, the beauty of the chaos of Italian life lies with the fact that, provided you are not caught on the wrong side of it, it can be pretty relieving - if you screw up, it's not the end of the world (and if you can pull a few strings here or there you will, more often than not, find a way around it).

Yet as much as we hate to acknowledge it, we all know that all good things must come to an end. 

Trying to cling on to something that is leaning towards it's final stages, no matter how sweet it is, will usually result in sour disappointment or bitter endings. It goes with everything - just like you know that while chillaxing in a villa on some beachy paradise in the middle of nowhere is nice for a luxurious getaway, living in such conditions would be a completely different story (granted, not the worst thing that could happen, but you get the idea). The same goes for when you eat an amazingly decadent slice of chocolate cake and it's so satisfying that you go for another... and then another... until in the end all you feel is regret and very very ill. It's a fairly consistent and simple truth - all good things must come to and end sooner or later.

But that's not to say that other good things won't come along. Or that you can't come back to it eventually and enjoy it all over again.
I know this is all very cliché - forgive me - it is just that there comes a time when the odd stomach-turning cheesy cliché becomes plainly apparent in your own life and calls for a bit of reflection.

In a time of change, growth, decision-making, reflecting, regretting, dreaming and aspiring, sometimes you just have to let go of things for a little while. Try not to over think it. Let things take their own course and see where you end up. Even if it's the harder option and all you really want to do is keep things the way they are.

That's the sort of place I'm at now I think.

Confused, concerned, conflicted.

But also content. 

...

On another, less cheesy, note:
Check out what I was looking at from my window this evening.

Toodles for now!